Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - 23

National Park and what Cubbage
calls "God's umbrella."
I leave Jordan Hollow refreshed
- and determined to turn every page
in Page County. I go watch model
trains at Luray's restored railroad
station, and I gaze at wildlife paintings in the Warehouse Art Gallery. I
also take a few steps on the Luray
Hawksbill Greenway, a footpath
that overlooks a milldam and some
deep-green, grassy pastures that
remain forever in my mind.
Luray, Virginia
Jordan Hollow Stables: 800-4190599, jordanhollowstables.com
Luray Caverns: 540-743-6551,
luraycaverns.com
Luray-Page Chamber of
Commerce: 540-743-3915, luraypage.com
Mimslyn Inn: 800-296-5105,
mimslyninn.com
River Hill Wine and Spirits: 540843-0890, riverhilldistillery.com
Wisteria Farm and Vineyard: 540742-1489, wisteriavineyard.com

TENNESSEE
Luray Caverns has been an underground attraction for more than a century.

can go next door to find antique
automobiles - including some
90-year-old vehicles - at the Car
and Carriage Caravan Museum.
Then, go view the vintage tools
and cabinets of the nearby Luray
Valley Museum.
Another thing: Come hungry.
For breakfast, I munch on a
mushroom-and-Swiss cheese quiche
at Gathering Grounds on Luray's
Main Street. For lunch, I return
downtown for a spicy and juicy pastrami sandwich, served with a side
of Yukon Gold Potato Salad at the
West Main Market Delicatessen.
Later, I stop again on Main Street for
a trout, grilled vegetables and a
milkshake at Uncle Buck's.
In between, I taste both red and
white wine at Wisteria Farm and
Vineyard as well as some whiskey

at River Hill Wine and Spirits. I
even walk on a small, sandy beach
at Lake Arrowhead, a popular fishing-and-swimming spot on the outskirts of town.
"There's a lot of activity in this
area," says Lisa Cubbage, owner of
the Jordan Hollow Stables, a site in
Stanley, where I take a horseback
ride on a Monday morning.
"And, I tell you," Cubbage says,
"one of the most beautiful drives
you can ever take is from Luray to
Stanley. These mountains, all the
way down U.S. 340, are
phenomenal."
For an hour, I follow Cubbage's
lead through a grassy meadow and
across Hawksbill Creek. Our horses
pass through a patch of pines and
cedar. Then, like a dream, we come
into the shadows of the Shenandoah

Saddling up, my 14-year-old daughter looks perfect on a horse - and
perfectly happy, too. Abigail has
been riding about once a year since
she was six. Now, in Tennessee, she
rides like a pro on the Cumberland
Plateau.
As part of a daddy-daughter
weekend, we follow Fentress
County's trails with ride guide Larry
McMillian, the operator of
Southeast Pack Trips. McMillian
offers an extra coat for Abigail plus
plenty of patience as we navigate
between trees and, also, cross roads
at the edge of the Big South Fork
National River & Recreation Area.
"We have over 300 miles of trails
in the park and 125,000 acres," says
the 60-year-old McMillian, whose
horseback rides roam a region that
sits so far west that it is part of the
Central Time Zone.
Nearby, in Allardt, we spend a
night at the Turner House, a rental
operated by retired postmaster
July/August 2015 23

http://www.jordanhollowstables.com http://www.luraycaverns.com http://www.luraypage.com http://www.luraypage.com http://www.mimslyninn.com http://www.riverhilldistillery.com http://www.wisteriavineyard.com

Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015